piston ring swap

[slow6]

what all else do I HAVE to change while I'm in there?
I think that since coolant got inside the engine and overheating, my bearings probably are bad.

Can I pull the oil pan gasket and reuse it? I think so.... Was it put in with silicone/rtv/sealant??

[John_D.]

Re: piston ring swap

I would do the bearings for sure. Coolant is bad on them.

[slow6]

Re: piston ring swap

Heres a list of things I think I should get for a ring swap, since no one was any help but thats okay, its a simple question.
NEW:
TTY head bolts $35
Fel-Pro head gasket $25
Fel-Pro Upper intake gasket $10
Fel-Pro Lower intake gasket $20?
Oil pan gasket
Piston rings $38
Rear main oil seal gasket
Timing Cover gasket?
Water pump gasket
Connecting rod bearings? i dunno
Several Filters and lots of oil

Edit: camshaft Lube and rocker arm bolts

Cant think of anything else, I'm sure I'm missing something

[slow6]

Re: piston ring swap

The haynes says to use a ring installer to pull off the rings. But I have no clue what they were smoking. I was able to get every ring off every piston except 1 ring on the last piston. The ring gaps are so close together and tight you can barely even see it! I'm gonna try to get a razor blade in there if I can. Dont know what else to do.

[CHEVYINSIDE]

Re: piston ring swap

you should buy the lower end conversion kit it comes with most of the gaskets you need

[slow6]

Re: piston ring swap

I saw that the Haynes says that if your piston ring gaps touch each other (or close to touching) that major damage could happen. Well, on this last one that I cant get off, the ring is stuck together so tight. I dunno how to get it off or what major damage could occur.

[John_D.]

Re: piston ring swap

If you don't have enough ring gap on a new install, the rings can stick when everything gets up to operating temp and expands.

Sticking rings will wear down the cylinders walls and rings fast, can cause the piston to seize, the ring to break, a ring land on the piston to break. That's the kind of damage they're talking about.

If you have one old ring that's tight like that, it probably has carbon built up behind it. You should clean all the ring grooves while you've got it apart. There's a tool for it.

[slow6]

Re: piston ring swap

got a ring land cleaner
thanks for good info!

[slow6]

Re: piston ring swap

you should buy the lower end conversion kit it comes with most of the gaskets you need

a lower end conversion kit only comes with gaskets?
what is it converting to?
where do i get it from/ how much?? not like i want it...


I FINALLY got the last compression ring off! the gap was COMPLETELY stuck together and somehow I managed to get a razor blade in there, even though I scratched the hell out of the piston head. (next to the ring lands, but not in the ring lands)
Hopefully I will have enough gap between the ring and the piston ring land. I mean enough gap on top and bottom of the ring itself.
thanks!

[camaroman1181]

Re: piston ring swap

The conversion gasket set would have been a good idea, as well as the head set too. Combined, they form a complete engine gasket set. The conversion gasket set converts from a head set to a full set. It includes things like oil pan gasket, timing cover gasket, etc. Its usually cheaper to purchase the two gasket sets than it is to buy individual gaskets. Plus, the sets usually have all the little gaskets that you can't buy anywhere. Be very careful with that piston... if you scratched teh side of it, you might need it looked at in order to make it smooth enough to go back into the engine. If it's all gouged up, it could potentially tear up the cylinder walls. Also, you can rent a cheap piston ring installer (compressor) at Autozone. I wouldn't try installing the pistons and rings without using a compressor. The tool is pretty self explanatory once you see it.